Weight increasing device for skate

ABSTRACT

A weight increasing device adapted to be mounted on an ice skate between the two posts supporting the boot of the ice skate. The device fits tightly between the two posts and abuts against each other. The device comprises a block which constitutes the mass of the device and a leg which projects outside said mass and is spring mounted so as to exert a longitudinal tension between the two posts.

United States Patent ()uellette 1 51 Aug. 26, 1975 [541 WEIGHTINCREASING DEVICE FOR 1,746,476 2/1930 House, Jr. 301/5 B SKATE2,197,170 4/1940 Anderson.... 28()/11.12 2,561,743 7/1951 Kusnarowis.280/1137 E Inventor! Laurent Ouellette, Lapralrle, 3,582,067 6/1971Rucks 280/1137 E Canada [73] Assignee; La Compagnie ManufacturierePrimary ExaminerDavid Schonberg Lauouel lnc., Longueuil, CanadaAssistant ExaminerDavid M. Mitchell [221 Filed: July 29, 1974 l 1211Appl. No.: 492,886 ABSTRACT A weight increasing device adapted to bemounted on 1521 US. Cl. ..2s0/11.37 E; 272/57 D an ice Skate between thetwo posts pp g the 511 1m. (:1. A63c 3/00 boot of the ice Skate- Thedevice fits tightly between Field of Sear h 280/1 1,12 1 1 15 1 137 Ethe two posts and abuts against each other. The device 280/1137 R,11.17; 248/229, 221, 356; 211/123; 24/81 CC; 272/57 R, 57 D, 70, 81

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 455,605 7/1891 Brooks, Jr248/356 comprises a block which constitutes the mass of the device and aleg which projects outside said mass and is spring mounted so as toexert a longitudinal tension between the two posts. I

6 Clairns, 6 Drawing Figures PATENTED AUG 2 6 I975 HEU 1 BF 2 WEIGHTINCREASING DEVICE FOR SKATE The present invention relates to a weightincreasing device adapted to be mounted on an ice skate and inparticular between the two posts supporting the boot on the blade.

Exercising weights for ice skates have already been used according tothe US. Pat. No. 3,582,067.

The purpose of mounting additional weights on ice skates is to increasethe muscular and control of the hockey players, professional or ordinaryskaters who intend to improve their performances and resistance atskating. Although general physical exercise has been recognized asvaluable for practising a specific sport, it is preferable to exercisethe specific muscles which are most commonly used for that specificsport.

It is the main object of the present invention to attach a weight to askate in order to require a greater performance from the legs of theskaters within a shorter period of time.

It is another object of the present invention to solidly secure theweights to the skates so as to make sure that they will not move duringany regular exercise of the skater.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a securing meanswhich will make the device easily installed or removed from the iceskates so that a skater may install or remove it quickly before a hockeygame, an artistic performance or a mere exercise practice.

The present invention is more specifically directed to a weightincreasing device adapted to be mounted on an ice skate having a boot, ablade and a pair of posts for supporting the boot on the blade, thedevice being adapted to be mounted between the said two posts, the saiddevice comprising a relatively heavy mass, means fixed to said mass forgripping said posts, means for varying the longitudinal length of thedevice and means for fixing the length of the device at a predeterminedlength.

The proposed device preferably uses a spring-loaded weight constructedso as to abut against each post and be locked tightly so as to berigidly secured thereto.

The present invention will now be described in greater details byreferring to the drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side view of a spring-loaded weight mounted between theposts of an ice skate,

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the weight increasingdevice according to the invention,

FIG. 3 is a top view of the spring-loaded weight shown in FIG. 1,

FIG. 4 is a top view of another embodiment of a spring-loaded weight forskates,

FIG. 5 is a top view of an alternative embodiment thereof, and

FIG. 6 is a top view of a different embodiment of the weight increasingdevice for skates.

As shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, a weight increasing device 10 is mountedbetween posts 12 and 14 of the skate boot 16 having the blade 18. Theweight increasing device 10, in FIG. 1 corresponds to the device 10 inFIGS. 2 and 3 and consists of a block member 20 which has aparallelepipedic shape with a concave recessed end 22. The other end ofthe block member 20 has a cylindrical hollow portion through which isinserted the rod 24 projecting outside the block member and at the outerend of which is rigidly secured a concave shoulder 26. The curvatures ofthe concave recess 22 and the concave shoulder 26 respectivelycorrespond to the curvatures of the posts 12 and 14. The rod 24 has aflat recessed surface 28 so as to prevent it from sliding outside theblock member 20 on account of the pin 30 which transversely projectsthrough the member 20 and in line with the recessed surface 28.Accordingly, the rod 24 has a sliding length corresponding to the lengthof the flat recess surface 28. A coil spring 32 is axially mounted overthe rod 24 and extends between the shouler 26 and a cylindrical recess34 in the block member 20. This spring urges the rod 24 outwardly of themember 20 until the pin 30 hits the protuberance 36 at the end of therod 24.

The device 10 is contracted when inserted between the posts 12 and 14and takes its normal dimension according to the distance between theposts 12 and 14. In order to prevent an unintentional release of thedevice between the posts when the skater performs his skill, awing-screw 38 is transversely threaded through the block 20 and tightensagainst the rod 24. In this position, the skater can safely move aboutthe ice without being afraid for the device to loosen and especially tohurt someone on the ice.

,Considering that the walls of the posts 12 and 14 of ordinary iceskates are at an angle from each other, it is important that the devicebe oriented so as to take up the longest distance between the two posts12 and 14. One of the solutions for this problem is to angularly disposethe device along the axis corresponding to the longest distance betweenthe inner walls of the posts 12 and 14 as shown in FIG. 1.

Another embodiment is illustrated in FIG. 4 and consists of two blockmembers 40 and 42 respectively having at their outer end and a recessedgroove 44 and 46 for abutting against the skate posts. A pin 48 ismounted between the two blocks and projects inside a hollow portioninside each of them. The pin has a pro tuberance 50 and 52 at each endand is prevented from sliding out by a pin 54 and 56 aligned with therecessed surfaces 53 and 55 on the side thereof. Wing-screws 58 and 60are mounted through each block to lock the pin 48 in position when thedistance between the blocks 40 and 42 is determined or reached. Thespring 62 is axially mounted over the pin 48 and abuts at each end incylindrical recesses 64 and 66. Accordingly, the two blocks 40 and 42will have the tendency to be spaced from each other but be preventedfrom falling off the pin 48 due to the pins 54 and 56 abutting againstthe proturberances 50 and 52.

The device is similarly used as the one illustrated in FIG. 1 so thatwhen the device is inserted between the two posts of the skates, theblocks are locked in position by the screws 58 and 60. If the device isintended to be angularly oriented between the two posts, the curves ofrecesses 44 and 46 will have to be shaped accordingly as illustrated bythe slope 45.

Another embodiment of the invention is illustrated in FIG. 5 andconsists of the block member at both ends of which are mounted hookmembers 72 and 74 which are intended to grip the posts of the skate. Thehook 72 is solidly secured to the block 70 and the hook member 74 has aleg 75 which penetrates a cylindrical recess 76 in the block member 70.A coil spring 73 is mounted around the portion of the leg 75 outside theblock member 70 and is fastened at each end to a hole 71 in the hookmember 74 and to a loop 77 fixed to the block 70 adjacent the outlet ofthe hollow portion 76. A wing-screw 78 is transversely mounted throughthe block 70 so as to tighten the leg 75 in a predetermined or reachedposition through the block 70.

The operation of the device shown in FIG. 4 is obtained by hooking thetwo hooks 72 and 74 to the posts of the skate and by tightening thescrew 78. It is obvious that the two hook members 72 and 74 must gripsufficiently around the posts of the skates so as to prevent theirunintentional releasing from the posts.

A further embodiment is illustrated in FIG. 6 which comprises two blockmembers 80 and 82 having at each outer end a recessed groove 81 and 83adapted to fit unto the posts of the skate. The two block members 80 and82 are connected to each other by a threaded rod 84 which is adapted tolaterally vary the distance between them. The rod 84 as a left-handthread 86 mounted through the block 80 and a right-hand thread 88mounted through the block 82. When the knob 90 is rotated, the blocks 80and 82 can simultaneously move apart or towards each other so as toadjust to the right dimension. When both blocks 80 and 82 abut againstthe lateral wall of the posts of the skate, the relative motion betweenthe rod 84 and the blocks 80 and 82 is locked by the wing-screws 92 and94. Each grooved surface 81 and 83 may be appropriately slanted as shownby the slope 85.

An additional means for securing each end of the device to the posts isby providing magnetic elements at each end of the device.

Furthermore, in order to prevent the vertical movement of the weightincreasing device, it is possible to foresee the thickness of the blocksdescribed above to a dimension corresponding to the distance between thesole of the boot and the upper surface of the blade.

It is also within the embodiment of the invention to use magneticelements in combination with the upper surface of the blocks so as tomagnetically contact the metallic plates on the under sole of the boots.

In the embodiments described above, it is preferred to locate thewing-screws on the outer side of the device so that the head of twoadjacent devices in a skaters foot would not touch each other.

What I claim is:

1. A weight increasing device adapted to be mounted on an ice skatehaving a boot, a blade and a pair of posts for supporting the boot onthe blade, the said device comprising a weighted block member, a rodslidingly mounted in said block member and extending outside therefrom,spring means mounted between the block member and the rod forresiliently biasing said rod-relative to said block member and means forpositively retaining the rod to said block member to prevent it fromsliding completely out therefrom, and gripping means disposed at thefree end of the rod and at the end of the block member opposite the rodfor laterally retaining the said device to said posts.

2. A device as recited in claim 1, wherein the saidspring means is acoil spring concentrically disposed over the said rod and adapted toabut against the block member and the gripping means located at the freeend of the rod.

3. A device as recited in claim 2, wherein the said rod has a flattenedsurface along a portion of one side of its periphery to form a recessedsurface thereon, the said rod retaining means comprises a pintransversely fixed through the block member and aligned with saidrecessed surface so as to limit the longitudinal displacement of saidpin.

4. A device as recited in claim 3, wherein a shoulder member is securedat the free end of the said rod, the gripping means are essentiallyconstituted of a recessed groove provided in said shoulder member andthe block member, the angle of the axis of each of said groovescorresponding essentially to the angle of the periphery of the post onwhich it is adapted to abut.

5. A device as recited in claim 4, comprising a threaded screwtransversely mounted in said block member and adapted to abut againstthe said rod, whereby the said rod is adapted to be releasably locked ina fixed longitudinal position.

6. A device as recited in claim 3, wherein the gripping means compriseshooks at each end of said device.

1. A weight increasing device adapted to be mounted on an ice skatehaving a boot, a blade and a pair of posts for supporting the boot onthe blade, the said device comprising a weighted block member, a rodslidingly mounted in said block member and extending outside therefrom,spring means mounted between the block member and the rod forresiliently biasing said rodrelative to said block member and means forpositively retaining the rod to said block member to prevent it fromsliding completely out therefrom, and gripping means disposed at thefree end of the rod and at the end of the block member opposite the rodfor laterally retaining the said device to said posts.
 2. A device asrecited in claim 1, wherein the said spring means is a coil springconcentrically disposed over the said rod and adapted to abut againstthe block member and the gripping means located at the free end of therod.
 3. A device as recited in claim 2, wherein the said rod has aflattened surface along a portion of one side of its periphery to form arecessed surface thereon, the said rod retaining means comprises a pintransversely fixed through the block member and aligned with saidrecessed surface so as to limit the longitudinal displacement of saidpin.
 4. A device as recited in claim 3, wherein a shoulder member issecured at the free end of the said rod, the gripping means areessentially constituted of a recessed groove provided in said shouldermember and the block member, the angle of the axis of each of saidgrooves corresponding essentially to the angle of the periphery of thepost on which it is adapted to abut.
 5. A device as recited in claim 4,comprising a threaded screw transversely mounted in said block memberand adapted to abut against the said rod, whereby the said rod isadapted to be releasably locked in a fixed longitudinal position.
 6. Adevice as recited in claim 3, wherein the gripping means comprises hooksat each end of said device.